It might be time for some religious training for the brave stewards and stewardesses that fly the lately not-so-friendly skies.

In what was dubbed by police a “security situation,” a Chautauqua Airlines flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Louisville, Kentucky was diverted to Philadelphia this morning when an observant seventeen-year-old from White Planes tried to put on tefillin. Or as Philadelphia police Lt. Frank Vanore described the “religious device”: a set of small black boxes attached to leather straps and containing biblical passages.

According to news reports, a stewardess became alarmed when the boy stood up and started wrapping them on, alerting the Transportation Administration Authority of a “disruptive passenger” and triggering the stop in Philly. The flight attendant had simply never seen tefillin before.

Since the Jewish world is constantly in our sights, it seems incredible that anyone would mistake those little black boxes for anything suspicious.

But, in this case, we might have to agree with FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver who said, of tefillin: “It’s something that the average person is not going to see very often, if ever.”

Colombian artist Doris Salcedo, whose provocative work is on display at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, confronts ideas of violence, oppression and injustice through her art. http://jd.fo/p8ovc

Rabbi Ron Fish and his family recently made the move to Sharon, a suburb of Boston. They love basketball, celebrating Shabbat — and Stephen Colbert.

"My son is marrying a woman from Singapore and he refuses to incorporate any Jewish traditions in the wedding — even breaking the glass. Am I being ridiculous to care?"
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May her memory be a blessing.

Lithuania is accusing Jewish partisans of war crimes. Jonathan Katz asks: Is the country just trying to hide its history of Nazi collaboration?

In a recent interview, Woody Allen spoke out about his controversial relationship with wife Soon-Yi Previn. Madison Margolin asks: who are we to judge them?

If you're an African-American Jew who wants a wearable symbol that screams 'Jewish,' you might run into problems with the Star of David, which was used as a gang symbol. Here's why MaNishtana decided to reclaim it. http://jd.fo/e8O0m

Jewish extremists carried out attacks on Palestinians and gay pride marchers hours apart. J.J. Goldberg explains how the killing of a Palestinian toddler may mark a dramatic shift for the anti-Arab movement — and one that Israel may not be able to easily control.

Jewish federations from coast to coast are coming under intense pressure to denounce the Iran nuclear deal, even though they usually avoid political disputes and the public is split down the middle. So far eight local groups have urged Congress to block the agreement. http://jd.fo/d8N6h

Judy Blume - our childhood hero and saver of marriages!

Liberals were happy to hear President Obama come out swinging in favor of the Iran nuclear deal. But by blasting the neo-conservatives who led us into the Iraq war, did he strike the wrong chord with some Jews?

Vayter / ווײַטער: A biweekly blog presenting original Yiddish articles, fiction, essays, videos and art by young writers and artists.

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